Wrapping apparatus



NOV 12, 1963 l.. BROOK ETAL WRAPPING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 25, 1961 NN NN mN IuuEN'roes um M M a/J /m, CM, Sa/M Y um NGV- 12, 1953 BROOK ETAL WRAPPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y United States Patent O M 3,110,142 WRAPPING APPARATUS Leonard Brook, Brarnhope, and Rowiand Walker, Dewsbury, England, assignors to The Forgrove Machinery Company Limited, Leeds, England, a company of Great Britain Ifiled Sept. 25, 19161, Ser. No. 146,431 Claims priority, appiication Great Britain Oct. 20, 196i) 3 Claims. (Cl. 53--177) This invention relates to wrapping machines of the type comprising a horizontal folding box, means for feeding a web of wrapping material continuously to the folding box which operates to form it into a tube having a longitudinal seam, and mechanism for feeding articles in regularly spaced procession into the folding box where they become entubed in the Wrapping material.

The invention aims to provide for positive control of the articles as they are fed through the folding box and further positive control of the articles as they are fed from the folding box lto a cutting mechanism which severs the tube of wrapping -material Itransversely between the articles. With this object in View, the invention provides a wrapping machine of the above type in which the folding box has open sides and which includes conveyors, situated on opposite sides of the folding box and carrying grippers which engage in pairs with the entubed articles and feed them positively forward through the folding box to the cutting mechanism.

The entubed articles may be fed from the folding box to cutting and sealing dies which sever the tube of wrapping material into individual article-containing packages and seal the end of the packages. Alternatively they may be yfed to cutting knives which cut the continuously 'formed tube into short open-ended tubes each containing an article, these tubes being then conveyed to any desired mechanism for completing the wrap, e.g. a continuously rotating twisting head as described in United States application Serial No. 70,244, filed November 18, 1960. In this latter case means will be provided -for sealing the tube at the seam. It is not, however, essential to seal the seam when the cutting dies form seals at the ends of the packages.

The essential function of the Igripper conveyors is to feed the articles under positive control through the folding box to the cutting mechanism and the grippers are so pitched as to leave space for the passage of the cutting blade, which can be made broad enough to sever the full width of the Wrapping material which is flattened by the c-utting action. As just indica-ted, the completion of the wrap beyond the cutting mechanism (when this does not also crimp and seal the individual packages) can be effected in any `desired Way.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the machine,

FIG. 2 is a corresponding plan View,

FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively sections on the lines lII-III in FIG. 1 and IV--IV in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the folding box on a larger scale,

FIG. 6 is a corresponding plan View,

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are respectively sections on the lines Vil-VII, VIII- VIII and IX-IX in FIG. 6 and FIG. 10 is a cross section through the Wrapper tube.

As shown in the drawings, confectionary tablets 11 to be wrapped are supplied continuously to the machine by a continuously rotating horizontal feed disc 12, from the pockets 13 of which the tablets are lifted in succession by an elevator 14, which is given a component of movement in the direction of movement of the feed disc.

3,1165142 rau-,mea Nav. ia, rees The lifted ltablets are fed in a `regular spaced procession along a feed channel, the base 1S alone of which is shown, to the folding box 16 by the depending paddles 17 of a conveyor chain 18. A web .19 of heat scalable wrapping material is fed from below to the folding box 16 which forms the web continuously into a tube 2li, having an overlap seam Z1 (FIG. l0) at the top. The tube 20 is sealed longitudinally by a heater 2.2, situated beyond the folding box and located above a resiliently supported plate 23. The tablets are fed through the folding box 16, past the heater 22 and to a pair of rotary cutting knives 24 by a pair of side conveyor chains 25 which carry gripper pads 26 pitched at the same pitch as the tablets and engaging in pairs with the tablets. The knives 24 sever the tube 2b into short open ended tubes 27, each containing a tablet, which are fed in succession by top and bottom belts 28, 29, which travel sufficiently fast to space the tubes 27 apart, into the grippers 30 of a continuously rotating twister head 31 of the construction described in United States application Serial No. 70,244 led November 18, 19601.

To permit of engagement of the gripper pads 26 with the tablets while they are in the folding box 16, the latter is of the open-sided construction shown in FGS. 5-9. It consists of a base plate 4% mounted on a bottom support 32 and two overlapping yblades 33 which define the top of the box and, for strength, are united at the discharge end of the folding box as indicated at 34 in FIG. 9. The blades 33 are attached to the base plate y40 at the entry end of the folding box and provide between them an opening 35 for entry of the tablets into the folding box, and the gripper pads 26 can move in beneath the blades 33 to engage the sides of the entubed tablets through the wall of the tube 20.

The open sided folding box permits the tablets and the tube 20 of wrapping material to be controlled and gripped by the gripper pads 26 immediately after they have been deposited in the folding box by the paddles 17. The gripper pads 25 carry the tablets positively forward to the cutting knives 24 and thence into the nip between the belts 28, 29.

It is not of course, essential that the completion of the Wrap should be effected by a twisting head. This may be done, as already explained, by any other desired form of wrapping mechanism.

What We claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A wrapping machine comprising a horizontal folding box having open sides, means for feeding a web of wrapping material continuously to said -folding box, said folding box forming said web into a longitudinally seamed tube, an article feed channel leading to the folding box, an endless feed conveyor situated above said feed channel and carrying paddles for engaging the articles and feeding them into the folding box at regular spacing to be carried through said folding box by said web as it is formed into the tube, a cutting mechanism situated beyond the folding box for severing the tube of wrapping material transversely between the articles contained in said tube and a pair of endless side conveyors situated respectively on opposite sides of said folding box and extending between said feed conveyor and said cutting mechanism, said side conveyors carrying grippers which extend through said open sides of the folding box, to engage in pairs with `said articles through the Wall of said tube and without engaging said tube between the articles as said articles are delivered into said folding box by said paddles, and carry said articles positively forward to said cutting mechanism.

2. A wrapping machine as claimed in claim l, in which said cutting mechanism is arranged :to sever the tube into the top of the folding box, said blades being joined to said lbase plate at the entry end only of said folding box.

References Cited in the file of this patent FoREiGN PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 2, 1955 

1. A WRAPPING MACHINE COMPRISING A HORIZONTAL FOLDING BOX HAVING OPEN SIDES, MEANS FOR FEEDING A WEB OF WRAPPING MATERIAL CONTINUOUSLY TO SAID FOLDING BOX, SAID FOLDING BOX FORMING SAID WEB INTO A LONGITUDINALLY SEAMED TUBE, AN ARTICLE FEED CHANNEL LEADING TO THE FOLDING BOX, AN ENDLESS FEED CONVEYOR SITUATED ABOVE SAID FEED CHANNEL AND CARRYING PADDLES FOR ENGAGING THE ARTICLES AND FEEDING THEM INTO THE FOLDING BOX AT REGULAR SPACING TO BE CARRIED THROUGH SAID FOLDING BOX BY SAID WEB AS IT IS FORMED INTO THE TUBE, A CUTTING MECHANISM SITUATED BEYOND THE FOLDING BOX FOR SEVERING THE TUBE OF WRAPPING MATERIAL TRANSVERSELY BETWEEN THE ARTICLES CONTAINED IN SAID TUBE AND A PAIR OF ENDLESS SIDE CONVEYORS SITUATED RESPECTIVELY ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID FOLDING BOX AND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FEED CONVEYOR AND SAID CUTTING MECHANISM, SAID SIDE CONVEYORS CARRYING GRIPPERS WHICH EXTEND THROUGH SAID OPEN SIDES OF THE FOLDING BOX, TO ENGAGE IN PAIRS WITH SAID ARTICLES THROUGH THE WALL OF SAID TUBE AND WITHOUT ENGAGING SAID TUBE BETWEEN THE ARTICLES AS SAID ARTICLES ARE DELIVERED INTO SAID FOLDING BOX BY SAID PADDLES, AND CARRY SAID ARTICLES POSITIVELY FORWARD TO SAID CUTTING MECHANISM. 